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Hidden Level Completes Two-Year U.S. Air Force Evaluation of Airspace Monitoring Against Group 1 UAS

Hidden Level
DATE:
May 14, 2026
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Press Release

Santa Rosa Island, FL — Hidden Level, in collaboration with the U.S. Air Force’s 96th Test Wing Plans and Programs Innovation Office and 46th Test Squadron, successfully detected and tracked Group 1 unmanned aircraft systems during a live capabilities demonstration on Santa Rosa Island, Florida. The event marked the culmination of a two-year integration and evaluation effort between Hidden Level and the Air Force test community.

The demonstration provided real-time visualization of Hidden Level’s passive RF detection network and its cloud-based airspace intelligence platform Airspace Monitoring Service (AMS), enabled by the company’s new Power In The Sky (PITS) technology. Together, the systems tracked UAS operated by both Hidden Level and the Test Wing across complex and realistic airspace conditions, confirming detection performance against small, low-altitude targets that represent one of the most challenging segments of the threat environment.

“The success of this demonstration event reflects the strength of collaboration between Hidden Level and the Air Force test community,” said Dave Clukey, Director of Business Development at Hidden Level. “Working alongside the 96th Test Wing and 46th Test Squadron allowed us to rigorously evaluate our capabilities in a live environment and demonstrate how integrated, passive RF sensing can effectively detect threats in complex airspaces and support mission success.”

The demonstration further highlighted Hidden Level’s ability to seamlessly integrate and share critical sensor data with other mission applications utilized by the U.S. Air Force. This interoperability underscores the company’s commitment to open architecture solutions that enhance situational awareness and accelerate operational decision-making.

“It was exciting to witness the culmination of the work, planning, anddevelopment we’ve accomplished over the past two years,” said Steven Bailey, 96thTest Wing Chief Innovation Officer. “Developing technologies that can detect and deconflict both drone threats and friendly drone operations in complex airspace is, in my opinion, imperative tomaintaining airpower and drone dominance.”

The successful demonstration positions Hidden Level for expanded operational testing and integration with additional platforms and mission sets as the Department of War accelerates investment in counter-UAS and airspace domain awareness capabilities.

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